OVERVIEW

Hotfoot Lake

All three of these little lakes seem to have names related to spinning or stirring something rapidly. To ‘hotfoot’ means to do something quickly. Hotfooting would be important while birling or churning. Birling is the process of rotating a floating log while running on it. Churning probably refers to making butter, but could also refer to the churning water of a log carrying river. The ability to hotfoot across floating logs is the sign of a seasoned logger.

There was a large fire in this area around 1863-1864. This fire is known as the North Kawishiwi River/Alice Lake/Cypress Lake/Saganaga Lake Complex. This burn began south of the current BWCAW's southern boundary near the town of Isabella, Minnesota.

Approach to Hotfoot Lake

From the west end of Churn Lake, find the creek that leads to Hotfoot Lake.

Bushwhack to Hotfoot Lake

All it takes is a 5 rod bushwhack along a tiny creek that connects the two lakes to get you and your gear into Hotfoot Lake. The creek is probably not navigable.

Exploring Hotfoot Lake

This lake is about the same size as Birl Lake. Like the other two lakes in this little chain, there is no swamp or bog to be found here so the entire shoreline offers possibilities for camping. There is no data on the Internet about this little lake, but it is easy to reach and explore, so take a gander.